Crown of Dust (First Fragment)Heroic Tier

This relic is a fragment of a crown of gold, about a third of the whole. The piece is still wearable—barely. Visions of raging sandstorms warm the blood of those who wear the fragment.

The Crown of Dust is a magic crown with the following properties and powers.

Item Slot: Head

Property

You gain a +2 item bonus to saving throws against ongoing poison and necrotic damage, as well as to skill challenge checks to survive or navigate desert hazards.

Power (Summoning) ✦ Daily (Minor Action)

Ranged 5. Summon a Medium dust devil in an unoccupied square within range. It then makes the following attack. Melee 1 (one creature); Strength, Reflex, or Constitution vs. Reflex; 1d10 + Str, Ref, or Con modifier damage, and the target falls prone. After the attack, the dust devil disappears.

Goals of the Crown

Be reunited into a whole item once again.
Find and resurrect or free Ul-Athra.

Roleplaying the Fragment

This fragment of the Crown of Dust doesn't know where to find its other fragments or the remains of Ul-Athra. It has a hazy memory of events before the Dragon struck the Crown from the primordial's head.

Concordance

Starting Score	5
Owner gains a level	+1d10
Each fragment of the Crown joined to the first	+1
Owner defeats an immortal (1/day)	+2
Owner or ally attacks an elemental (1/encounter)	-2
Owner defeats enemy without Crown's aid (1/encounter)	-1

Pleased (16-20)

"Soon, Ul-Athra will be found and restored to life!"The fragment is delighted because its host has shown a strong desire to revive the ancient primordial.

Property

You gain resist 15 poison.

Power ✦ Encounter (Immediate Interrupt)

Trigger: An enemy within 5 squares of you fails a saving throw. Effect: The fragment's daily power recharges.

Satisfied (12–15)

"We're making progress, surely? Perhaps the next dune holds Ul-Athra's remains or my lost fragments!"The fragment recognizes the efforts made by its host and hopes that they continue.

Properties

You gain resist 10 poison.
Each enemy within 5 squares of you has vulnerable 5 poison.

Power ✦ Encounter (Free Action)

Trigger: You score a critical hit on an enemy. Effect: The target takes ongoing 10 poison damage (save ends).

Normal (5–11)

"I am troubled. What if I never find my creator?"The fragment is forlorn by its host's failure to find Ul-Athra and its missing pieces.

Unsatisfied (1–4)

"Are you even trying to help me?"The fragment is displeased with an owner who seems unwilling to search out Ul-Athra's remains. Until the artifact's concordance improves, it grants no powers, but its properties still apply.

Angered (0 or lower)

"You've been deceiving me all along!"The fragment, enraged, punishes its host until the character's behavior improves or the artifact decides to move on. It grants no powers or properties.

Moving On

"A curse upon you until your bloodline fails!"The fragment disappears in a flash of virulent purple light, most likely while its host is engaged in combat.

Published in Marauders of the Dune Sea.